Emmy award winner Stephen Nystrup has traded in his bicycle messenger job in NYC and is now mountain biking throughout New England, and is playing in some of the great venues there. He has been around the world and back, both musically and geographically. Steve was born in Hartford and began playing the guitar at age twelve. "It was the most important thing in my life then," he says. Early influences were Sandy Bull, Tom Rush, John Fahey and Jorma Kaukonen. As a teen he travelled Connecticut playing in a trio called The Villigeaires. Steve began a musical journey that included two music degrees, as well as stops in Europe, Boston, and Martha's Vineyard where he played to the famous locals in a band called The Ogres and was hired by Peter Asher to work with Kate Taylor. He eventually found his way to New York City where he studied classical guitar with Herbert Levine while simultaneously playing in a new wave band called Reverse that released one album on Warner Bros. Since his debut solo album, "C" flat, and continuing with Driving Rain, Steve has been hailed as a guitar wizard and acoustic guitar hero, and his performances, says Roger Catlin of The Hartford Courant, are filled with "clear, evocative guitar work." His music has been described as driving and rhythmic, healing, and absolutely uplifting Steve's audiences leave a performance feeling they have been on a spiritual, [...]

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Guitarist TY Zhang received First Prize in the Guitar Foundation of American (GFA) International Concert Artists Competition in 2017, known as the most prestigious guitar contest in the world. He has received First Prize in other top competitions as well in Austria, China, Russia and the U.S., including the GFA International Competition Senior Division, Austria’s Forum Gitarre Wien International Youth Competition, the Changsha International Guitar Competition, the 2017 Schadt String Competition, and the 2017 Alexander Frauchi International Competition in Moscow.   TY has given recitals in Vienna, Serbia, China and the United States. His performance for the 2017 New York Guitar Festival was broadcast on WQXR radio. The GFA prize leads him on a concert tour starting in 2018 of over 50 cities in North America, including his recital debut in Carnegie Weill Hall, with additional dates in Europe, South America and his native China. TY performs Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Allentown Symphony in 2018 and recital/concerto tours in Russia as the prize of the Frauchi Competition. With the goal of sharing the love of music through guitar in every piece he plays, TY's concert repertoire is filled with diverse cross-genre music he loves. His debut CD will be released on Naxos in June of 2018, and includes works by Bach, Scarlatti, Brouwer, Assad, Tansman [...]

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Maria Zemantauski is a nylon-string guitarist and composer whose style is most significantly influenced by the Spanish classical and flamenco repertoire. She has performed in Spain, Italy and across the continental United States to great acclaim. Her albums, Mrs. Laughinghouse (1997), Seeing Red (2000), Under the Lemon Tree (2005), Petty Feet & Mistletoe (2010) and the self-titled, Maria Zemantauski (2018) have received stellar reviews from music critics around the world. Maria’s programs are a dynamic blend of artistic freedom, innovation and tradition. This is not surprising considering that as a child, she resisted guitar lessons, telling her encouraging parents that she wanted to “discover the instrument on her own without being told what to do.” As one reviewer wrote, “Zemantauski has continually pushed the boundaries of the possible with her trusty 6-string, blending genres that have little or no business appearing on the same bill, much less in the same song. It's rarely less than electrifying to watch her do it." She believes that the expressive possibilities of the guitar are limitless and pursues her music with passion, confidence and grace. With a Masters Degree in Cultural Anthropology, she is a relentless promoter of the arts as a vital educational component and an integral part of society. She is highly regarded for combining both [...]

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